Bundle wrapping machine



p 1955 G. M. MAST ET AL BUNDLE WRAPPING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 30, 1949 INVENTORS G. M. MAST, W. K. GANNETT,

L. E. MOELLER BY W777- M ATTORNEY p 1955 G. M. MAST ET AL 2,718,738

BUNDLE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS G. M. MAST, w. K. GANNETT,

BY L. E. MOELLER ATTORNEY Sept. 27, 1 5 G. M. MAST ET AL 2,718,738

BUNDLE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 30, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.9

4s 44 b FIG. IO

21 16b P P I50 L I50 5c -l6b 43/ FIG. ll 22c|- l 1 2|-- |6b l5b f i 7 L I 20 FIG. l2

INVENTORS e. M. MAST, w. K. GANNETT,

L. E. MOELLER ATTORNEY Sept. 27, 1955 5. M. MAST ET AL 2,718,738

d Nov. 50, 1949 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS G. M. MAST, w. K. GANNETT, BY L.E. MOELLER ATTORNEY United States Patentf) BUNDEE G-ZMACHINE Gitford M. .Mast, Davenport, Wright KL Gannett, near. Davenport, and Lloyd E. Moelle'r, Davenport, Iowa,

assignors to M'astDeve'lopment Company, Inc., Davenport, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application-Novemberv30, 1949, Serial N 0.- 130,298

the present invention is used to wrap up these sheets bundles from two inches (2") to four inches (4") 1n thickness, which are commonly called for in the trade.

Among the objects-of this invention are to provide a machine for wrapping. the extremely large bundles of the type indicated without injuring the .rather fragile material; to provide 'amachine for-"wrapping the material with reinforcementstrips inside the Wrapping; and such further objects,,jadvantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appear and as are inherent in the structure disclosed herein. Our invention further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and, while we have shown thereinwhatis now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, .we desirethe same to be understood as illustrative-only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In. the drawings. annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents, in perspective, diagrammatically, the paper-feed mechanism of this machine;

Figs. 2, 3,4, and Srepresent, diagrammatically, the steps in the feeding of the paper through this machine;

Fig. 6 represents, on a larger scale, the feeding of the bundles, about tobe wrapped;

Fig. 7 represents the bundling operation just. prior to the infolding of the paperat the rear of the bundle;

Fig. 8 represents, in perspective, the mechanism for. thegluing.v of the rearv edge of the bottom face ofthe upper flap of the paper, just prior to the infolding thereofin the packagingoperation;

Figs. 9, 10,--l1, and 12 represent, diagrammatically, the operation. of sealingthe rear end of the bundle;

Fig. 13 represents, diagrammatically, the mechanism for and the operation of feeding down behind the sheets to be bundled the edge-reinforcement stripv at the rear edge of a group. of sheets and a part of the mechanism for feeding in reinforcement strips -at the forward ends of the sheets; and

Fig. 14 represents alongitudinal section of a differential paper-drive roller. 7

Reference will now-be made in greater detail. to the annexed drawings fora more I complete description of this mechanism. Broadly, this machine comprises a paper roll support 1, a paper roll drive motor2, a wrapping paper accumulator-3,- a-differential paper feed roll 4 for properly centering the web of paper for the wrapping operation and feeding the paper web, a paper guide 5, and an adjustable paper stop'mechanism 6. In Fig. 13 there isshown a part' of the mechanism for'feeding in, at the forward and'rear edges of the bundles, reinforcing strips for protecting the edges of the bundles. This mechanism is locatedin the space above the paper web in the middle of Fig. 1, so that, as the product being bundled is fed forwardly, it will pass just below the paper guide 5.

The roll of paper 7 is supported on the paper support 1 which is rotated slowly by the motor 2, and the web of paper is fed upwardly and over the roll 8, from which it feeds downwardly around the roll 9, and then upwardly again around the roll 10, from which it goes downwardly, as indicated at 11, and around the roller- 12. From here it travels horizontally, as indicated at 13, to the roller 4, and from this upwardly through the guides 5, being forced upwardly by the rollers 4 and 4a. Passing the guides 5, the paper is fed out on the top of the traveling webs which form a part of the table 14.

The switch 6 of the paper-feed stop may'be placed above or below the paper web but it is preferably placed below and has a Wire extending up into the path of the paper where it is engaged by the edge of the paper as it travels forwardly. This results in the stopping of the feeding of the paper, as a circuit leads to the motor 6a from the switch 6 of the paper-feed stop, opened by the pressure of the paper. stop and the motor 6a, together with associated wiring, are represented in Figs. 1 and 2. After the paper has been fed to position, as shown-in Fig. l, with the edge of the paper against the switch 6 of the paper-feed stop, edge-reinforcement strips 16a and 1612 are inserted, at the ends of the bundle, so that they will be bound into the bundle, between the paper and the product P being bundled.

The next step is the bundling Whichcomprises, among, other things, pushing the product forwardly by means of the infeed pusher 15 of Fig. 6 and over the table 75. As the bundle is pushed forwardly through the opening 5a, the strip16 of paper is pulled backwardly by the infeed of the product, as illustrated by Figs. 2 to 4. The paper then extends under the bundle, across the front end and over the top, as shown in Fig. 4, with an edge reinforce ment strip16a between the paper and the forwardedgeof'the bundle. The material P 'is fed forwardly'from the table to the table 7 6.

As the paper is being brought around three sides of the bundle, as indicated in the next preceding paragraph, a pair of shoes, locatedalong the sides of the bundle, engage the forward corners thereof and tuck in thosecorners, as the bundle advances.

the sides of the bundle by another pair of shoes. Thisinfolding of these side flaps is done, progressively, start ing at the forward-corners and, after the side edges have beenfoldedin and glued in place and the paper for bundling the product'has been cut from the paper supply, the back fold' is completed; as shown in Fig. 11. Thentherear corners are'tucked in. The rearrein'forcernenti striptl6bis heldfin place as'thebundle is advanced bytheinfeed pusher 15 and,..when the pusher 15- is-with.-.- drawn, it is held in-placeby the rods 15a.

When the-rear edgexofzthe bundle reaches the position.

shown in Fig. 4, between the rolls 17 and 18, it stops while a cutter-travels across the machine below the rollg.

rearfolder '20, the holding bar 15a is withdrawn, since Patented Sept. 27, 1955.

This switch 6 of the paper-feed Then one edge of each of the side flaps at each side of the bundle is glued and turned in to stick it to the first of these flaps to close' it is no longer needed to hold the rear reinforcement strip 16b in place.

Next a glue pot 22 travels across the machine on a pair of rods 23, actuated by an endless chain 24 looped across the machine and carrying a pin 25 which engages in a slot 26 in an extension of the glue pot, as shown in Fig. 8. This glue pot, of conventional construction, has applying means, preferably in the form of a roller, which dips into the glue in the pot, as shown in Fig. 12, over which roller passes the upper flap of the paper which is pressed down on the roller 22a by a roller 22b. The result of this is that a thin layer of glue is applied to the inner face of the upper flap. Now, the upper folder blade 21 moves downwardly to fold the upper flap in, as shown in Fig. 11, and the two flaps are secured together when the upper rear flap 15c comes against the outside of the lower flap.

When the roll 4 feeds the paper up until it reaches the stop 6, it is not feeding as rapidly as the motor 2 feeds the paper to the accumulator 3, with the result that the roll 9 lowers to near the bottom of the accumulator, and the paper accumulates sufiiciently to wrap a bundle. When the shaft 30, going down past the switch 33, strikes the arm 31 of the switch, it opens the switch and its connection to the motor 2, so that the feeding of the paper is stopped. Then, when the product being bundled begins to pull out the paper web, the shaft strikes the upper arm 32 of the switch 33, and the motor 2 is started.

When the backfold is completed, as shown in Fig. 11, a flight of conventional construction and carried by sprocket driven chains carries the bundle forward.

The roll 4 has three rubber-faced sections 4b, 4c, and 4d which cooperate with the rolls 4a in feeding the paper up into the guides 5. These three sections 4b, 4c, and 4d are the same size, are slightly larger than the other intermediate sections, and travel at the same rate as the paper web. Sections 40 and 4d are connected through a differential gear system 36, 37, 38, and 39 so that, if either 4c or 4d travels faster than 417, then the other one must travel slower. The shaft is non-rotatable and slightly bowed, with the result that there is a very slight angle between the axes of 4c and 4d. Hence, there is a tendency to stretch the paper web laterally, with the result that the paper is kept taut and, through differential action of sections 40 and 40., is centered laterally on the feed roll.

Reference will now be made more particularly to Fig. 13, showing the mechanism for feeding the edge reinforcement strips into position. A motor 45, carried by a table 46, is connected by a belt 47 to a belt pulley 48,

or this may be a sprocket connected by a sprocket chain 1 47 to the motor 45. On the shaft 49, carrying the belt pulley 48, is a sprocket 50 and a clutch 51, carrying a single dog 52 which is engaged by a stop 53. This stop is actuated by the solenoid 54, releasing the clutch 51 for a single rotation. As a result, the sprocket 55, through chain 56, drives the sprocket 57 one-half revolution. This sprocket is connected through the shaft 58 to the eccentric 59, from which a link 60 leads to a crank arm 61 mounted on a shaft 62. Crank arms 63 and 64 connect this shaft to links 65 and 66, to which are connected the ram 67, forcing the reinforcement strips 16a and 16b down through grooved guide channels 68, from which the lowest strips 16a and 16b are released when they reach the bottom ends of the guides 68. The ram 67 at the forward end is not shown in the drawing.

Constant pressure tending to force the strips 16a to the right and 16b to the left, as shown in Fig. 13, is furnished by crossbars 69 connected to blocks 70 carried and actuated by chains 71 which slide through the friction blocks 70. Whenever a ram 67 forces a strip 16a or 16b downwardly and then withdraws, a group of strips on the table on which they are resting is fed along by the crossbars 69 and blocks 70, the lead strip stopping against the stop 72. During this stop period,

4 the chains 71 continue to slide through the blocks 70, driven by the sprocket 73 and chain 74.

It is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. In a bundle-wrapping machine, the combination of a paper drive, a table to receive paper from the paper drive, said table being located above said paper drive, paper guide means leading the paper upwardly from said drive and onto said table, a paper-actuated switch means on said table and connected to said paper drive for starting and stopping the drive, a second paper drive, a second table below said first table, above said first paper drive, and located between said first and second paper drives, paper guide means carrying paper from said second paper drive under said second table to said first paper drive, a wrapping table at the same level as said second table and underneath said first table, and a pusher for feeding articles to be wrapped from the second table against said paper as it extends from said first paper drive to said first table and onto said wrapping table.

2. A bundle-wrapping machine as defined by claim 1, further characterized by strip-inserting mechanism above said wrapping table and below said paper-receiving table for feeding reinforcing strips during the wrapping operation.

3. A bundle-wrapping machine as defined by claim 1, further characterized by a paper accumulator having a vertically movable roller for delivering paper to said first paper drive, and means controlled by said vertically movable roller for controlling said second paper drive.

4. In a bundle wrapping machine, a table for supporting temporarily one end of a length of wrapping material to be wrapped around a bundle, a second table for receiving the bundle material to be wrapped, a third table to receive the bundle material to be wrapped thereon, said second table and said third table being positioned in substantially the same horizontal plane and located so that the first mentioned table is above the third table, the second and third tables having an opening therebetween, means for feeding lengths of said wrapping material below the second table, through said opening, and up to the first table where it is temporarily held, means for feeding the bundle material from the second table across said opening and to the third table, feeding of the bundle material to the third table across said opening causing Withdrawal of the wrapping material from the first table and wrapping it around the bundle material, and means beyond the opening between the second and third tables for sealing said wrapping material around said bundle.

5. A bundle wrapping machine as defined by claim 4, further characterized by an accumulating means, located at the rearward end of said second table, means for supporting the wrapping material underneath said second table, and means including a driven roller at the other end of said second table and substantially underneath said opening for feeding the wrapping material through said opening and up to said first table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Wood May 12, 1931' Schmitt Ian. 30, 1934 Tomlin Feb. 15, 1934 Ferenci June 8, 1937 Smith Oct. 11, 1938 Gollwitzer June 30, 1942 Bodolay Dec. 8, 1942 

